O'Hara's Horses
by Tempest2004
Summary: When Tavington is sent to retrieve O'Hara's sister, he meets his match. NonRomance. Please R&R!


This is my first Patriot fic. I looked at all the mary-sue's and decided...Tavington needed a friend. If this turns into a romance, it's entirely unintentional. I seem to have an affinity for them. If anyone is OOC, please let me know. My T.V. bad, so I can't watch the VHS we have of it and Mom won't get me the DVD for Christmas, so I can't see the extra scene's. Anyway, hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Lady Cordelia and her horses. Wouldn't mind borrowing Tavington though...

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"Lord Cornwallis, this is a waste of my time and my men's. We should be preparing for the next battle, not playing fetch." Tavington protested. Cornwallis narrowed his eyes.

"There is time to be spared for the next battle. I understand General O'Hara's sister is quite the horsewoman, she will undoubtably be able to keep up with you and your men. Now that is a direct order from _me_, _Colonel_ Tavington." Cornwallis said, just short of growling.

"Yes, my lord." he said, bowed and lead Bordon out.

"My lord, was that a wise desicion, questioning General Cornwallis?" Bordon asked, once they were aboard horse. Tavington didn't answer. He was questioning that desicion himself.

----------------------------O'Hara Plantation------------------------

"Can I help you?" a voice asked, the question being followed by the click of a rifle cocking.

"Are you Cordelia O'Hara?" Tavington asked. A figure stepped from the shadows of the house. She looked like O'Hara alright. With dark hair, green eyes and complexion darker than his, Tavington would barely have guessed they were indeed twins.

"Who's asking?" she demanded, her boots thudding on the porch.

"Colonel William Tavington." he said, nodding his head respectfully. "Your brother sent us." he said. Cordelia snorted, a very un-ladylike sound.

"Figures. Look, I'm just fine here. Send him my regards though." she said and turned to walk back in.

"My Lady, I'm afraid...I must insist." he said and pulled his saber. She stopped and turned to look at him. Green eyes met blue ice shards and they froze. After a moment, Cordelia sighed and uncocked her rifle.

"Fine, but I'm riding my own horse." she said. She disappeared around the side and after a half hour, she came back, leading a prancing, nervous black horse under saddle.

"A fine animal." Tavington said and this was a genuine compliment, for once. Cordelia shrugged.

"I have a dime a dozen of these. Feel free to take as many as you want. Just put experienced riders on them, they're all handfuls." she said and mounted her horse. The horse reared and Tavington was surprised to see that not only was he a stallion, she actually stayed on. In the middle of the rear, Cordelia leaned forward and hit him between the ears. The stud came down and pranced for a moment, before finally settling. 

"Thank you." Tavington motioned with his hand and half the regiment went to round up the fracticious beasts. "I don't meet many ladies who ride wild stallions." he said. Cordelia laughed.

"He's not wild. I brought him over from England, he's perfectly trained, he's just a bit thick." she said and watched a bit wistfully as they herd was moved down the lane. She tightened the reins as the Stallion tried to follow. The horse sidled into Tavington's mare, who pinned her ears back. "Damn you, stop it." she said and slapped his hindquarters. The horses head dropped and his back arched. "Oh, h-." she muttered just before she was bucked off. Tavington urged his mare forward and grabbed the reins before the stud could take off. Cordelia stood up, brushed herself off and walked back over, took the reins and started backing the stallion up. He fought her, tossing his head and trying to put his head back down to buck. After a moment of this, she stopped backing him, let him catch his breath and began turning him away from her, getting him to flex his hindquarters and keep from bunching up. Tavington watched with interest as she worked the stallion. When she finished, she lead him back next to Tavington and what was left of his company and mounted again.

"That was impressive." he said as they set off at a canter.

"Thank you. And thank you for catching this beast. He's almost impossible to catch once he gets going." she said. Tavington nodded and they continued to the fort in silence without any further incidents from Stallion or Lady.

"Cordelia!" O'Hara said, hugging his sister. She returned the hug one armed, holding her horse, who's head was up and he was investigating his surroundings. O'Hara pulled back and regarded the Stallion. "So, this is the infamous Ares?" he asked as the horse snorted at it's name.

"Behave yourself. Yes, this knucklehead is Ares." she said. The stallion sniffed and scented his herd. With a wild neigh, he rose on his hind legs. With a yelp, Cordelia released the reins and watched at he took off. "I'm glad the reins are still over his neck." she sighed, walked over to Tavington, who had just dismounted, snatched his reins, tossed them back over the mare's head, swung up and took off at a gallop after her stud. For a moment, William stared dumbly after her, until Bordon offered his own horse. William nodded his thanks, swung up and rode off after O'Hara's wild sister.

------------------------------Southern Large Paddock-------------------

"You!" Tavington snarled as he caught up with Cordelia. "How dare you take my horse!" he growled, dismounting Bordon's horse and taking hold of his mare, stroking her neck and talking quietly to her. Cordelia was trying to catch her stallion and ignoring William. The horse snorted, pawed and charged. William watched in fascinated horror as the 1,500 pound horse charged her. Just as he about to hit her, Cordelia started yelling.

"Hai, hai! Go on, get! Hup, hup!" she yelled, clapping her hands and waving her arms at the stud. Ares tossed his head and turned away, cowkicking at the same time. Cordelia grunted as he caught her in the side with his back hooves. William groundtied the horses and ran over the fence, ducked inside and waved the other mares and foals away. Cordelia attempted to sit up, but William pushed her carefully back down. Ares, feeling sorry for himself, walked gently over and nudged her face. "You baby." she said, taking hold of his bridle. William, doing his best not to blush, pushed her shirt up and gently checked her ribs. Nothing broken, merely bruised.

"Well, it's a good thing he doesn't have better aim. You'd have several broken ribs." he said, extending a hand. Cordelia took his offered hand and between him and Ares, she was on her unsteady feet. She leaned against Ares' shoulder, reveling in his warmth.

"Thank you keeping the other horses off me." she said as they walked out, Cordelia leading Ares. William shrugged and mounted his mare, taking the reins of Bordon's horse and waited until Cordelia mounted Ares. They rode back to the fort and O'Hara noticed Cordelia's wincing.

"What did you do?" he demanded, glaring at her as she dismounted.

"Ares got a little rambunctius and decided to show off his cowkicking to the ladies." she said, stroking the now settled horses neck.

"That animal is dangerous." he said and reached for his pistol. Cordelia's eyes widened slightly at this.

"Don't you dare." she said, her voice low and dangerous. Charles cocked the pistol and pointed it at Ares. Cordelia, without thinking, left her horse, strode over, knocked the gun aside and pushed Charles on his ass. Tavington waved off the approaching guards. They exchanged glances, but obeyed a higher ranking officer. "If you ever threaten my horse like that again. I will have your ass and brass, you got me, little brother?" she snapped. Charles stared up at her.

"We're twins, you can't be-" he stopped as she lifted him by his collar to come nose-to-nose with him.

"I said, do you get me?" she growled. Charles nodded.

"Yes." he said shortly, blushing at the two guards snickering. Cordelia dropped him unceremoniously and walked back over to her horse.

"I will see you at dinner, brother." she said coldly and walked away, leading her Ares.

--------------------------Dining Hall------------------------

As an officer, William Tavington was ordered to attend dinner with Lord Cornwallis, whenever in Fort Carolina. He was only vaguely surprised to see Lady Cordelia there, in fine spirits and a green dress that made Bordon blush just looking at her. Cut low, It was extremely revealing and quite scandalous. The sleeves just barely reached her wrists and the skirts weren't nearly as full as they could have been. On the whole, Cordelia could have been an expensive prostitute rather than the Twin of General Charles O'Hara, asistant to General Cornwallis. Tavington rather liked the look, but had better manners and more self-preservation instincts than to say so. Appearently, brother dearest was awfully protective of his twin.

"Your brother informs me that you had a slight accident with your horse, Lady Cordelia." Cornwallis said as they dined on steaks and red wine that night.

"My stallion became a bit over-excited, my lord, when reunited with his herd." she said, sipping her wine. Cornwallis narrowed his eyes slightly.

"'Herd', milady?" he asked cautiously. Cordelia nodded.

"Yes, my lord. I offered my best stock to the dragoons and the british army in general. You are in serious need of decent horses. I can see many of your animals were simply not bred for this terrain." she said, then smiled demurely. "If I may be so bold." she said.

"And how do you know this?" Charles asked, his tone faintly warning her to tread carefully.

"Because, little brother," Cordelia returned, acid lacing her tone. "I breed horses for a living. My animals are a cross between the Thoroughbreds of London with the rugged horses of the loyalist colonists I have purchased them from. Ares is a product of that cross." she said, before eating a piece of steak.

"I should like to observe him in action tomorrow, if that is all right with you, Lady Cordelia." Lord Cornwallis asked. Cordelia nodded.

"Of course, my lord. My ribs are still sore, so perhaps, Colonel Tavington would be so kind as to ride him tomorrow." she said. Tavington, whose hands had been itching to get control of that stallion after the display of ill-temper that morning, restrained an eager smile.

"I would enjoy that." he said, sipping his wine.

--------------------The Next Afternoon--------------------

"Becareful, his favorite trick is to try and buck you off. And If that doesn't work, he'll try to rear." Cordelia said, dressed in her breeches, boots and cotton shirt again. William nodded, rolling his eyes at her.

"I noticed that yesterday." he said. Cordelia shook her head.

"You don't get it, Tavington. That was a sulk, compared to what he might do today." Cordelia said, opening the stall door for him. William nodded, swung up and trotted out. Cordelia followed about 10 feet back and to the side.

"Lady Cordelia." Cornwallis said, kissing the back of her hand. Cordelia nodded politely to him.

"My lord." she said and discreetly wiped her hand off. She trained her eyes on Ares, silently willing him not to do anything stupid. They left the fort and went out to the open field to the side of the Fort. "Behave yourself." Cordelia muttered. To his credit, Tavington was a good horseman, knew the body language of the animals and when to back off. As a stout horse, Ares could handle the paces William put him through, as a stallion, he enjoyed showing off. As an individual, he could, and would only, take so much. Out of nowhere, in the middle of a dressage movement, Ares took it upon himself to test Tavington's control of him. He jerked the reins from the Colonel's hands, set his sights on the woods and took off. With a somewhat un-Tavington yell, William was dumped rather spectacularly on his bum as he lost his balance with the sudden jerk and watched in dismay as Ares took off. Again.

"Damn that horse!" Cordelia yelled, throwing her hat, which she wore to protect her from the sun, on the ground and stalking back to the Fort to get a ride.

"Quite the mouth on her, hmm?" Charles asked, embarrassed. She came back out on a gelding, leading Tavington's mare and met the limping Colonel with a wry smile.

"Can I say it?" she asked as he mounted his mare. William scowled at her, which she took as a yes. "I told you so." she said, grinning rather madly.

"Oh, shut up." Tavington snapped.

----------------Three hours later-----------------

"Where have you two been?" Charles demanded as Cordelia and Tavington returned, covered in leaves and pulling thorns out of their arms and leading a tired Ares.

"Chasing this idiot." she growled, jerking her head at Ares. "I'm gelding him tomorrow. I'll get a temporary replacement for him when I'm done." she said, handed him off to a groom. "He's two years old, not quite as young as I'd like, but I have to do something." she said, dismounting and taking her gelding to the stable. Following her, Charles glared at Tavington who was walking alongside him.

"I'll get one of the infantry men to do it." O'Hara said, blushing at the thought of his sister...There.

"No, you won't. My horse, my responsibility. There are a couple foals that would make good stallion prospects." she said, untacking the gelding, rubbing him down and putting him in stall, feeding him and replacing his water.

"Cordelia, I have to insist." Charles said, attempting to use his spine. Cordelia turned and gave him a surprised look.

"No, you don't have to do anything. You'll sit this one out, Charles. As your older sister, I'm telling you too!" she said. Charles snorted.

"We're twins. And as the male twin, I'm telling you to obey me!" he said. As Cordelia pulled her arm back to punch him, despite his wish to see O'Hara decked and dealt with, Tavington stepped in.

"Now wait a minute. We're all tired, some of us more than others." he said, looked at Cordelia. "I suggest we rest and clean up before dinner." he said. The O'Hara twins both frowned and Tavington had to stop himself from taking a double take.

"Fine." they snapped and both stalked off in opposite directions. Bordon, who had been standing off to the side, trying not to grin, stepped into the light.

"Bordon, when was the last time I got to play mediator?" William asked. Bordon thought back, though it didn't take long.

"My wedding, sir. When I wanted to punch my father-in-law." he answered.

"Marcus, remind me to send your father in law a present of thanks." Tavington said. Bordon cast him a quizzical look that William caught.

"Sir?"

"He was practice for the next few days." Tavington said, grinning. Bordon sighed and hoped his medical skills were up to specifications. He'd more than likely need them.

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TBC

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Please R&R!


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